Land of the minotaurs

Chapter 14

"You shouldn't even be here!" insisted Kaz, fighting the dragonfear. "The dragons have all left Krynn! Since the end of the war!"

"The gods commanded that we depart, yes," agreed the red leviathan. "They compelled us! We served them well… on both sides… and for our reward we were to be cast out of this world! Yet I resisted! I fought against the pull! One by one, my brethren flew off into the air, unable to command their own wills, but still I managed to resist!"

The red dragon clambered down from the dais, eyes darting from one minotaur to the next. Each time his gaze returned to Ty. Kaz noted that and began to wonder.

"My anger was my strength. I had served my lady well, working over the centuries to achieve her goal, and now I was supposed to abandon my work for her, all that I had strived for! It had become more mine than hers, and I was simply to leave it behind because of her failure! I, Infernus!"

Where were the clerics and the guards? Kaz had expected others to barge in by this point. Did they not hear the bellowing? He could not believe the minotaurs who worked in the temple knew the secret of their high priest. Perhaps a few high-ranking ones did, but even that was doubtful.

Again Kaz tried to will his axe to his hands. This time, he felt a slight tug, as if Honor's Face sought to return but was prevented. Yet it gave him a little hope. The dragon's will was not.invincible. Kaz might be able to get the axe back if he could distract the dragon enough.

Providing he got the chance.

Infernus seemed glad to have an audience, albeit a captive one, for which to boast of his exploits. They were probably the first outsiders to know the truth… no doubt because the dragon intended to kill them all.

"You are my children, more than you are the offspring of either Sargas or his mistress, dark Takhisis! I have made you into the terrors that you are, guided you over generations for her, obeyed foolish edicts, and given you over to other masters so that you would be honed by the harshness of your lives. All so that you would become stronger, more defiant soldiers! Now, I can lead you to fulfill your glory, and mine! I will rule, and your kind will act as my talons, reaching out farther and farther until we have all of Krynn under control! You shall bow to no one, no god or goddess, but me!"

Infernus looked up to the ceiling. If Kaz had understood the dragon correctly, then the history of the minotaur race was a mockery-centuries of endless manipulation by forces without and within-the dragon the greatest manipulator of all. Every high priest for countless generations may have been this dragon in minotaur form.

The shiver that ran down his spine was not influenced by the dragonfear, but rather the realization of what had happened to all those minotaurs, many of them no doubt good, honest clerics. What had Jopfer thought when the offer was presented? Had he thought that here was a way for someone to correct the ills of the priesthood? Had he believed that he could work with his former masters and make the temple of Sargas an ally of the circle?

When had he finally discovered the truth? Just before Infernus stole his form and destroyed him?

The baleful gaze of the huge red creature suddenly focused on Kaz. "A shame you had to be so defiant, Kaziganthi de-Orilg. You and I share a kindred spirit, but that is why you could not obey me. You were useful for a time, though, spreading the glory of minotaur skills beyond the homeland. For a time I let those tales spread among your own kind, knowing such feats as were rumored could only encourage others to strive harder." He dipped his massive head in what Kaz supposed was a bow. "I am glad I decided to let you live after you departed the circus. It would have been a pity to rid myself of both you and your brother at the same time. Until you began to settle down and draw others from the homeland, you were more aid than hindrance to my plans. Had you accepted my offer, you would have redeemed yourself and become my greatest general. I hoped you would. Truly I had hoped so. You are what I have been striving to create, Kaziganthi. You are the minotaur warrior that knows no defeat, knows no challenge that cannot be overcome!" Infernus cocked his head. "You still have one last chance."

"You must be mad!" Kaz began, enraged. "After what you've done to me and mine you still have the arrogance to offer-"

"You!" The voice was Ganth's, as Kaz had never heard this father. The mariner, sword raised, stared wide-eyed at the leviathan. Despite his dragonfear, the older minotaur began edging forward. "You had Raud killed! And you had Gladiator sent out on that doomed mission, didn't you? I remember the high priest sanctioning it! By the Just One's beard, I remember the temple practically insisting we be sent out into those dark waters immediately… without a cleric aboard, which was standard practice back then! You knew we'd run into those ships, those marauders, and that storm as well, didn't you? You expected us all to perish, didn't you?"

Eyeing Ganth, the dragon coldly replied, "It was my duty to cull the weak, the unstable, and the unpredictable from the ranks. The race had to be tempered constantly if it was to be of use to my mistress." Infernus scowled, but not at them. "And what was done?" the dragon raged. "They were wasted, used as fodder by those who could not appreciate my efforts! I strained to create for her a perfect race through which she and her consort could take Ansalon. Then her insipid little mortal minions wasted so much effort! All the centuries of work, the strengthening through adversity and winnowing…"

"You killed Kyri, you slimy serpent…" Ganth growled. "You killed my crew. You killed hundreds… thousands… You killed my son-"

Kaz moved too late to stop his father. The older minotaur bounded forward, rage overwhelming reason. He raised his sword high, calling out an old minotaur war cry.

Raising one limb, Infernus reached forward and batted Ganth away.

"Father!" Kaz and Fliara both cried. Ganth literally flew over their heads, his weapon clattering to the floor. The companions, save for Ty, forgot the dragon as Ganth crashed into the floor several yards away, his body sprawled.

Even before Kaz reached him, he knew that his father was dead.

He looked down at the lifeless body. From the marks on him, it was possible Ganth had died before he landed. A single blow from a dragon could easily kill most mortals.

In that moment, the accursed voice of the gray man murmured in his head, "I'm sorry, Kaz. I had no control."

"Get out of my head!" he muttered, turning on the dragon. Infernus was personally responsible for the deaths of his parents and his brother. He was, as Ganth had pointed out, responsible for the deaths of thousands, all in the name of some foul plan to create a perfect race of warriors to serve a sinister goddess. Kaz faced the murderous beast, again seeking to will Honor's Face to him. Briefly, he almost thought he would succeed, but the dragon's will was still too strong, even though Kaz was fueled by intense grief and anger.

As he abandoned his effort, he became aware of a lone figure standing before the fearsome behemoth.

Ty.

"I won't let you hurt them anymore!" the girl called.

"Ty! Get away from him!" Kaz yelled.

"You are young. I will forgive your foolishness," Inferitus told the human. "But do not test my goodwill!"

"You killed Kaz's father!" shouted Ty, ignoring the dragon's words.

A fireball large enough to consume a minotaur burst from the human female's hands. It flew at Infernus, striking him in the chest. The dragon grunted, batting away the flames.

"Consider yourself fortunate that the balance must be maintained, young one. Now behave yourself."

A transparent shell of bright red fell over the girl. It sank down, first enveloping, then passing through its victim. The last traces disappeared into the floor, but the aftereffects were evident. Ty slumped to the floor, overcome with dizziness.

"This has gone on far too long," declared Hecar. "We have to take him or die trying. What other choice have we? Are you with me?"

"The girl must be freed," came the voice of the gray; man again. "There must be balance in all things for you to succeed. Balance leads to balance."

"I said get out of my head!" Kaz growled. "Take your advice and stuff it back into whatever dream you come from!"

Fliara touched his arm. "Kaz! What ails you? Who're you talking to?"

He had no time to answer, for Infernus refocused his attention. "You were not supposed to die in the circus, Kaziganthi, but your father would have, as an object lesson to you. That is rectified. Now, however, I see that I might as well have let you perish. You will never bow. Never. It would be efficient to simply eliminate you and your small band once and for all, but there would be little satisfaction in removing you in such a… draconian… fashion. Your deaths must be elaborate to excite the masses, something even more extravagant than the ritual executions I'd earlier planned. I shall have to think about it."

They started forward, but it was already too late. Emerald shells similar to the red one that had enveloped Ty covered each of them. Kaz felt his body stiffen, his mind grow distant. The shell passed through him and, by the time it sank into the floor, he could not move at all, save to breathe. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaz could see Hecar's hand, as pale and still as his own.

"Why are you doing this?" came Ty's voice. "Let them go and I'll do everything you say! I won't resist anymore!"

Infernus seemed impressed. "You need to be as helpless as the rest. I thought I took your true origin into account. You are stronger titan you appear. Young One! Good! That; means you will live a long, long life for me! Many, many centuries!"

"What do you mean?"

"You still do not understand?" The great red chuckled. "Ah, the naivete of youth! Do you not understand why you are so important to me? Do you not realize what happened?" Infernus leaned his head back. "All the dragons were called away. I knew I would be compelled to follow, but I resisted. You see, my young one and my statuesque friends, there is a balance…hat must be maintained at all times. For me to remain on Krynn past the calling, there must have been one of my opposite number also on the world! One of the dragons of foul Paladine, you see. Yet, for this one not to obey meant that there must be unusual circumstances. I searched Krynn, sought out the magic forces. Where was there another of my kind, and how had he or she also escaped the call?"

He leaned forward again, smiling. A new wave of dragonfear washed over the helpless group, though none could do anything about it. Infernus chuckled again.

"My agents discovered the fragments of a shell. A single egg had been left behind and had hatched." As he spoke, Infernus began to shrink back to his minotaur form. It was a slow process, a small degree with each breath.

Utilizing his magic, the dragon explained, he had taken the fragments of the shell and used them to seek the hiding place of the hatchling. As long as the other dragon existed, Infernus could remain on Krynn. However, if something happened to either one, the other would likely be forced out of the world.

"Then I found the young one. Or rather, my spell found a creature that appeared to be the hatchling." He grinned. "It found you… Ty. What an amusing name."

"I'm no dragon. If I was, you'd be sorry!"

Infernus found this amusing. Infernus seemed to find everything amusing. "I thought the same, but I observed you. I sensed. I thought. Then I saw that it was true. You are a dragon, Young One. You must be one of the accursed silvers, who shape themselves with more ease than most of us. A newborn especially, with no one to mind it, can shift without intending to. It can take on a form based on the inner knowledge our kind possesses, or from things it happens to see. A young dragon might take the form of humans, who might have been the first intelligent beings ft remembered seeing."

"I am human!"

"It can only have been about eight years since the call, yet you are taller than you should be, older in appearance, too, when you wear that form. That fooled me for a time, but then, young dragons grow fast at first. Deny it all you like, but do you not feel your blood calling? Do you not dream of flying through the sky, soaring at undreamt of heights? We all dream of that from birth on. It is a part of our heritage, dark or light, hatchling."

"No…" but Ty's voice evinced uncertainty.

"Yes. You cannot deny it."

Kaz struggled to move, but the dragon's spell held him fast. A multitude of thoughts swirled within him. Ty was a dragon? As insane as that sounded, it made some sense. The girl's fantastic if erratic ability with magic was impossible for one so young and untrained… if she was human.

Infernus spoke of balance, just as the voice of the gray man had. What was the connection there? He was certain the figure in gray had some past significance. Something Huma of the Lance had once spoken about, but the memory was still hazy.

His thoughts scattered as Infernus, much smaller now, suddenly shifted form. The wings shriveled, drawing within his back. His savage maw reshaped into the more familiar muzzle of a minotaur.

The dragon's tail was the last item to vanish. Before them all stood the false Jopfer, his robes floating and wrapping around him.

"You and I will have a lot of time to talk about these things, Ty. You shall realize your destiny under my tutelage. As for these four…" The high priest returned to the desk, pulling a cord.

A moment or two passed, then the doors opened and two acolytes hurried inside. They froze at the sight of the figures standing before them.

"Summon the guards," commanded Infernus in his role of Jopfer. One of the acolytes did. When the guards arrived, the high priest ordered, "Remove these to cells on different levels from the one set aside for the girl. Be especially thorough when binding the kender. I want them all here for their ritual combats. Their deaths will mark the commencing of the day of destiny for the glorious minotaur race… and myself."

They were suddenly able to move again, though temple guards surrounded them. One of the sentries prodded Ganth's body. Kaz snarled and tried to push him away, but the other soldiers held him back.

"Remove that unsightly object and return it to the clan of Orilg. Inform their patriarch that the emperor and I will want to see him in a few days to explain his involvement in these activities. He will receive a summoning when I desire his presence."

"Yes, Holiness."

To Kaz's horror, his father's body was unceremoniously dragged away. Slowly it dawned on Kaz that none of the other minotaurs had evidently heard anything that had gone on in the chamber, including the high priest's revelations.

"You fools!" he dared shout. "You don't even know what happened here! You don't even know the truth about your high priest!"

They were all looking at him. He was about to say more when his eyes met those of Infernus. There was a knowing look in them, a gleam that invited Kaz to say whatever he wanted. The robed figure would not stop him from speaking the truth.

Kaz shut his mouth. The high priest had good reason for not caring whether Kaz informed the others about his true identity. If he had not seen the dragon for himself, he would not have believed his story either. Everyone knew the dragons were gone, and what minotaur would believe that every high priest for centuries past had been the selfsame dragon in disguise? That was the beauty of the red dragon's plot. The truth was too outrageous.

The edges of the robed figure's mouth crept upward. "Take all of them away except the human."

The guards had just begun leading them away from the chamber when several more arrived, their leader none other than a severely shocked Scurn. He looked at Kaz and the other captives, then at the high priest.

"Holiness-" he started.

"Captain Scurn. I find these intruders in the temple and I find you also here. Is there a connection?"

Before the scarred minotaur could defend himself, one of the guards said, "Holiness, we saw him lead this group into the temple, claiming this warrior was a prisoner you would desire to question and the others a unit of the State Guard."

"Holiness, I can explain! I led them here, then alerted the guards to their trick!"

Infernus smiled, rubbing his jaw. "Then you are deserving of a special reward, something of your heart's desire, I think."

Scurn gave Kaz a triumphant smile, then dipped his head in gratitude to the robed figure.

"I'm going to grant you a personal combat against four of the present grand champions from the surrounding arenas. It will be one of the highlights of the circus in the coming days. I'm sorry that it cannot be Kaziganthi de-Oril'g himself, but this should more than satisfy you, wouldn't you say? If you kill them, you will be returned to the guard with full honors and a ranking high enough to earn you a post of commanding officer. If you die, then…" Infernus shrugged. The scarred minotaur was a veteran of the circus, but he was no match for four grand champions.

Scum's strained voice expressed his realization that he had just been more or less sentenced to death. "But… but, Holiness…"

"Guards, escort Captain Scurn along with the others. See to it that he has the proper accommodations. It will give him time to consider his choice of actions when confronted by enemies of the state."

"Holiness, I am a captain of the State Guard-"

"Which follows the dictates of the emperor, the circle, and, of course, the temple." Infernus waved a languid hand. "You are all dismissed. Prepare yourselves for the circus. There will be no interruption of the combats this time."

With a protesting Scurn in tow, the guards prodded Kaz and his companions out of the audience chamber. Kaz caught one last glimpse of Infernus descending the dais and walking toward a hapless Ty. Then the doors closed.

Kaz tried once more to summon Honor's Face, thinking that they might as well make a last stand here as in the circus, but his thoughts were too confused. He had failed them, Ganth most of all.

And Ty, a dragon? It did not sound so surprising, not after all Kaz had been through during the war. Huma's silver dragon had also been a beautiful human maiden. Kaz had also seen one or two other dragons take human forms.

Hecar walked up next to him. "Kaz, I grieve with you. I swear that each blow I strike in the arena will be in your father's honor. They'll see a battle like they've never seen."

"Be quiet!" snapped a guard.

They completed the journey in silence, even Scurn, who was still obviously befuddled by his downfall. Kaz almost felt sorry for him.

The guards separated the prisoners, putting each into a different cell. They were careful to search the kender beforehand, removing several items, including a tinder box belonging to one of the guards.

Kaz and Scurn were the last two to be incarcerated.

"Inside," one of the guards commanded Kaz. When he obeyed too slowly, both guards prodded him. Once inside the cell, which was lit only by a torch that one of the temple warriors held, Kaz was quickly chained to the far wall.

The lead guard looked over the chains to be sure they would hold, then said to the prisoner, with a grin, "You won't be going anywhere this time. I'll promise you that."

He received no response from Kaz, which made him. scowl. A moment later, the guards exited, taking Scurn with them.

Darkness enveloped Kaz, the only illumination coming from a small, barred window in the door. His eyes adjusted slowly. What's the point? he asked himself discouragingly. Infernus had everything under control. The minotaur race was his tool, to direct as he pleased. No one would believe that the high priest was anything but one of their own. Few would Likely cross the high priest, even if they knew his origins.

What a jest it was, the history of the noble minotaur race. All they had achieved, all the adversity they had suffered, was for the sake of a dark goddess and her servants. Warriors had lived and died for generation after generation in the mistaken belief that they fought for the future of their own kind.

Warriors like Ganth.

Kaz closed his eyes and tried not to think. He forced himself to ignore the streaks of moisture gliding down his face and waited for the oblivion of exhaustion to overcome him.

What he got instead, after some hours of fairly fruitless waiting, was a visit from the gray man.

Polik did not like being dragged from his bed before sunrise. Polik, in fact, did not like being dragged from his bed several hours after sunrise, but Jopfer had requested his presence and the emperor feared the high priest sufficiently to obey.

The acolytes spirited him to the temple with their usual efficiency. It did not do for others to see the emperor rushing to an audience; that was bad for the image Polik had worked hard to perfect. That was why he had lasted in the role for as long as he had. Both the warlords and the high priest had found him well-suited. Polik believed he would go down in the annals of minotaur history as the emperor who had led his people to their destiny, and all he had to do in return was follow the words of those like Jopfer.

"This way," indicated one of his guides as they entered a hidden doorway of the temple. "His Holiness is impatient."

One thing that did annoy him was that few of the high priest's people bothered to address him as emperor. He would bring it up with Jopfer, delicately reminding the high priest that appearances were important at all times.

What did that emaciated fiend want at this time of night? Had they finally located the damnable Kaz? The shame of that travesty in the circus still angered the emperor. How had Kaz been allowed to wear that medallion? Where had it come from? As far as he knew, his rival of old had thrown the thing to the ground after the death of his brother… Raum or something like that. It unnerved him to think that Kaz had kept it all these years. Had he always planned to come back to challenge Polik?

Kaz was not that big a fool, but…

Before he realized it, he was in one of the smaller rooms behind the great audience chamber of the high priest. These were Jopfer's private rooms, the place where the pair generally met.

The high priest himself was seated in a chair behind a wooden desk that was a perfect copy of the stone seat atop the dais. Jopfer seemed lost in thought. The acolyte in the lead respectfully cleared his throat.

"You are here," Jopfer said complacently. "I expected you sooner. We have an important matter to discuss."

"I came as soon as I could." The emperor made no move to sit. He never sat down, no matter how much he ached, unless the high priest indicated it was all right to do so.

Jopfer gave no such indication. He dismissed the acolytes, then, when they were gone, he said, "Kaziganthi de-Orilg and his associates are in the custody of the temple."

Polik brightened up. "You have them all?"

"All. The old one, Ganthirogani of the same clan, died during the capture. His body will be returned to the clan, which will have some explanations to make."

The minotaur did not envy Dastrun, but was glad it was the Orilg patriarch and not him who faced the high priest's displeasure. "Good news, indeed. My thanks for alerting me to this."

"You should not have been so careless in the circus, Polik, altering my orders. If not for the fact that someone had already confused the commands and placed Kaziganthi in a certain deadly situation, I would be especially angry. He was to have fought a single ogre, a certain triumph for him. Then, with his confidence swollen, he would have seen his father killed by the gladiators. It would have shattered his spirit, I think, made him malleable." Jopfer idly scratched his chin. "Merriq has paid for not being able to properly transmit commands."

So, despite Polik's transgression at the circus, the high priest was willing to forgive and forget. Polik was not quite certain he understood, but he was willing to accept his good fortune. "Then if that is all-"

"There is more."

"More?"

"Certain plans have come to the fore. A missing component of my-of our-success is now within my hands. I think it is ready to use. I do not see why we need delay any longer. The fleet is ready, and our warriors chafe at the bit, desiring blood and glory. It is time we gave them free rein."

Polik almost sat down in astonishment. "The campaign is to begin? The Supreme Circle-"

"Will sanction everything, some of them because they are as bloodthirsty as their warriors and the others because they would look like cowards to the rest." Jopfer's eyes seemed to blaze with anticipation. "For the announcement, we must plan a special day in the circus, a showing of our might to the general population. The event will highlight the deaths of the rebellious minotaurs, your ultimate combat victory, ensuring your place at the head of our people, and the announcement of the impending campaign."

The campaign. Polik could scarcely believe what he had heard. The campaign was to begin at last. "Where do we attack?"

Leaning back, the high priest replied, "I've chosen the humans to the west of us. It will be a two-pronged attack, with the fleet sailing north and coming around to their shores up there. They will transport an army with them, of course. Meanwhile, the rest of our forces will come through the mountains and crush their eastern border."

"Such a two-pronged attack could work against us as well as for us," Polik dared to point out. "They're only humans, I grant you, but there is always the unexpected."

"The plan will succeed. I will give you details concerning it on the morrow. Rest easy, Emperor. We have tremendous power behind us, a force as great as any army. On the day of the attack, you will know the details. I can say nothing more for now, but it will be a sign to our people that their patience has been rewarded. It will be a sign that this is the beginning of our conquest of Krynn!"

"At last…" Polik rubbed his huge hands together in anticipation, then recalled something said earlier. "Did you say my 'combat victory'? In the circus?"

"You are overdue for a victory. Emperor. This incident with the heretics has further emphasized the need to renew the people's faith in you. A successful duel prior to the announcement will nudge them in the correct direction."

"Against Kaz?"

"The thought had occurred to me," replied the high priest. "He has become uncontrollable, no longer a trustworthy addition to our commanders. He will have to die, but I fear that for us to ensure success in such a duel as you suggest, we would have to drug him beyond what is feasible. This combat must look true to all. No, his fate will be different. For you, I can find a more suitable opponent. There are two or three candidates among the grand champions, one especially who considers himself a far better choice for emperor than you, Polik. As a matter of fact, he was encouraged to make a formal declaration… or rather, he will be. See to it that he gets his reply in time for the event."

"Of course, Holiness." Another victory under his belt. No one would be able to deny his destiny, save for Jopfer, of course. However, Polik saw no reason why he could not find a way to remove the one obstacle to his complete authority, sooner or later. It would not be too troublesome to eliminate Jopfer.

"You may return to your bed." The high priest turned away, his thoughts already elsewhere. The acolytes came up behind Polik.

The day of destiny was to begin. The emperor could scarcely believe his luck. He had begun to wonder if the day would ever come. Jopfer was correct; it would be good to prove his right to rule just before the announcement. An imperial combat was definitely called for.

As the acolytes led the emperor out of the temple, his thoughts turned again to how simple it would be to remove the one minotaur he feared… once the campaign was well underway, of course. There were those among the circle who would welcome Jopfer's demise. From among them he would be able to find a capable assassin. Then, it would simply be a matter of timing. For all his power, there were limits to the high priest's control. It would not be hard to kill him.

After all, under the cloak of authority, Jopfer was just a minotaur like the rest of them.